Hollywood Riviera & South Bay Real Estate Blog

It’s 2010 – Happy New Year!  “Twenty-Ten” is bound to be a good year.  To get things started the Hollywood Riviera neighborhood has 18 properties currently for sale.  11 of those are single family residences, 2 condos and 4 townhouses.  $525,000 gets you a 2 bedroom/2 bathroom condo near the bluffs and the Palos Verdes border.   Bring $675,000 to the table and enjoy a 3 bedroom, 2 1/2 bathroom ocean view townhouse close to Torrance Beach!  Just under a million and you can “play ball” with the bank on a short sale for a nice 3 bedroom/2 bathroom single family residence.  On the high end – $3.5 million dollars – you can own a 22+ thousand-square-feet-piece of the Torrance Beach bluff and the house that goes with it.  Nothing in the way of those ocean views!  

December 5th, 2009 – Here in the Hollywood Riviera there are only 15 houses for sale right now.   6 on the Torrance (90505) side of the line and 9 on the Redondo Beach P.O. Box (90277) side of the line.  The Hollywood Riviera neighborhood has 2 addresses – Torrance and Redondo Beach although it should be noted that the entire area lies in the City of Torrance.  The Redondo Beach side is merely a P.O. Box and has nothing to do with the city of Redondo Beach.  Schools are all South Torrance – Riviera Elementary, Richardson Middle School and South High School.

Of the 15 homes currently for sale – the prices range from $615,000 on 5026 Pacific Coast Highway, Torrance, CA 90505 to 517 Paseo de la Playa, Redondo Beach, CA 90277 which is located right on the bluff above Torrance Beach listed for $3,500,000.  As you can see there is quite a broad range of homes for sale.  In the mid-range, let’s say $949,000 – $1,099,000 there are 4 houses for sale that all have different qualities that make them each unique. 

1. 4817 Via El Sereno, Torrance, CA 90505 – 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms with a nice open modern floor plan.  The house has many upgrades including a very decked out garage.  The home has a nice city lights view out the back from a nice deck with a built-in firepit and seating.  Surround sound package and high-end lighting systems make this home ready to move into today!  $949,000

2.  452 Via los Miradores, Redondo Beach, CA 90277 – 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms (although one bath is off the kitchen and not near the bedroom area.)  Newer kitchen with granite counters and stainless appliances looks out back to the sunny south facing pool area.  Main bathroom is nicely remodeled as well with double sinks and pretty tile.  $949,000

3.  359 Paseo de Gracia, Redondo Beach, CA 90277 – One of the few short sales in the neighborhood (currently there are 2 active on the market.) This one has been on the market a while and it was way over-priced at $1,179,000 but they just reduced the price to $958,000 which makes this 3 bedroom, 2 bath with over 1800+ square feet seem much more attractive.

4. 209 Vista de Parque, Redondo Beach, CA 90277 – as the name implies, it’s located adjacent to El Retiro Park and this nicely appointed, recently remodeled throughout 3 bedroom, 2 bathroom home priced at $1,099,000 is quite nice.

If you are interested in seeing any of these or other Hollywood Riviera homes for sale, just give me a ring or an email.
Thanks, Kelly

There are currently 29 single family homes for sale here in the Hollywood Riviera.  They range from $530K (small fixer on PCH) to $3.5 Million (house on the bluff above the beach!)  That’s not a lot of inventory especially when you consider that only 6 months ago – May 09 – there were 49 homes for sale.  Our inventory has been selling.  Another plus is that the all the inventory is moving - including the high end inventory. 

Currently there are 15 homes here in the Riviera “pending” sale.  That means they are in escrow with a buyer in the process of purchasing the home.  That is typically a 30-60 day process depending what worked best for all parties.   These 15 homes range in list price between $589K – $2,248 Million.    The average price of the homes pending sale is $1,012,580.

Sold homes – if we go back and compare solds the 1st half of the year vs. the (not finished) 2nd half of the year you will see how the 2nd half of the year has gone much better for everyone.  Jan 1, 09 – June 30, 09 – there were 24 homes sold.   Their average price was $1,002,500. 
                                                                 Jan 1, 09 – Jun 30, 09 Solds 

Since then, July 1st, 09 – today (October 28th, 09) we’ve had 36 homes sell (that’s a 30% increase already and the 2nd half isn’t even over – remember those 15 pendings – most likely at this rate they will all sell prior to the end of the year which would make 51 homes sold vs that 24 (more than double the number of sales 1st half 09 vs. 2nd half 09.)  That’s good news for those who thought to sell the 2nd half of the year.  It also shows that the stimulus package the government is backing is working.  Not many of the people who get a $8K tax credit for purchasing a first home was seen here in this specific neighborhood, but people probably bought homes in lesser expensive areas and now those people who sold those homes can afford to move up to this neighborhood. 
July 1, 09 – Oct 28, 09 Solds

Multiple offers are back….ugh!  How do we agents prepare our buyers for the realities of multiple offers again?  Preparing them is the key here to a successful transaction.  Some tips for managing buyer’s expectations BEFORE they make the offer include:

1) Meeting with your buyers and advising them of the current market conditions.  If buyers understand upfront what to expect they are much less anxious about the process and tend to handle the rejection of not getting their offer accepted much better.
2) Advise your buyer to be prepared for the bidding process.  Have all your loan paperwork ready-to-go.  When presenting your offers include along w/ the package copies of pre-qualification letter, FICO scores (especially if they are high), & proof of funds – this makes you a much more believable candidate.  And as an agent, it makes you someone who shows they are “ready to go.”
3) Have the buyer know what top price it is that is “out of their range.”  That way, if the property sells for more than that price, they won’t be too dissappointed as they will know that it just was too expensive for them.  Be prepared as a buyer to pay your top price.  It is dissappointing to find out a house sold to someone else for a few more thousand than you offered.
4) Keep up a positive attitude when trying to find the right house.  It can be discouraging when you are in a price range where there is little inventory and those that do come on the market sell quickly, in multiple offers and not to you.  The right house will eventually present itself and you will be ready when it does.
5) Work with an agent who is determined to help you find a house…one who does not get discouraged.  Part of the agent’s job is to encourage you and stand behind you – no matter what the circumstances are and no matter how many times/offers it takes to get you the right house.

Donate Your E-Waste and Help Save Our Schools!  

On Saturday, June 6 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. the Torrance Council of PTAs will be hosting an E-Waste donation day. 1-800-GOT JUNK is donating 50% of the profits from this event to the TEF/TUSD Save Our Schools Fund to replenish proposed state budget cuts of $9.4 million for the 2008-09 school year.

Acceptable items include: Computer monitors, CRTs, TVs, projection TVs, CPU, towers, printers, fax machines, all-in-one centers, radios, stereos, speakers, phones, answer machines, kitchen appliances, microwave ovens, small refrigerators, and household appliances.

Drop off location is 2336 Plaza del Amo, Torrance, at the Educational Materials Building (EMB) parking lot.

For more information please visit the Torrance Council of PTAs website at http://www.torrancecouncilofptas.org/ or call Tammy Khan at 310-972-6152 or email her at tkhan@tusd.org.

Finally, NBC Anchor, Brian Williams has had enough of anchoring “the nightly depressing news” to the depressed public.  I’ve been thinking about it for a while now – as a matter of fact I wrote a blog about it back in August 2008 – Why Not Share Some Good News For Once.  Basically, viewers of the NBC Nightly News are sick of hearing all the bad news – constantly.  So NBC Nightly News decided to put it out there to all their viewers – “send us some good news stories.”  They have been inundated with so many stories they are going to find it hard to report all the good news.  I personally will start watching NBC Nightly News to see some of the “good news” out there in the world.  Maybe if we all start hearing some good news things will turn around again. 

Here’s some good news from C.A.R. – California Association of Realtors : The unprecedented price declines have dramatically improved affordability in the state. C.A.R.’s Housing Affordability Index for First-Time Buyers, which measures the share of all households that can afford the entry-level home, rose to 59 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, meaning that nearly six in 10 households in California could afford the entry-level home (defined as 85 percent of the median home price) in the fourth quarter. Affordability has nearly doubled from a year earlier when the affordability index was at 33 percent and now stands at its highest level since the start of the decade. The index is based on an entry-level home price, a 10 percent downpayment, an ARM effective composite rate, and a 40 percent debt-qualifying ratio.

I’ve been called on to perform my civic duty – jury duty that is.  Ugh….I got on a two week civil trial.  In the old days, eveyone got out of jury duty – financial hardship was the big excuse – especially when you were self employed like me.  There is a whole webpage devoted to how to get out of jury duty here.   

I guess I didn’t act crazy enough or think hard enough about getting out of it.  I just figured one day – no biggie and most likely it wouldn’t even be one day.   Postponing it is just like postponing the inevitable so I figured I’d just do my one day and get it over with.  Boy was I ever wrong.  In a huge room filled with a pool of prospective jurors (maybe more than 250 of us here in the City of Torrance Courthouse) I sit down.  Even the facilitator guy made it sound highly unlikely we get on a trial.  Well, you know who gets called – and pretty early on I might add – along w/ about 50 others.  We all have to go up to a courtroom where they need to pick out 14 individuals to serve as jurors on their civil case.  So guess who gets called again out of the 100 prospects in the room – me again.   21 of us went up and had to get grilled by the lawyers looking to pick “a jury of peers” for their clients.  Of those, they get rid of the “crazies”  (like I said I just couldn’t bring myself to act crazy in front of everyone and in a courtroom.)    After that they get rid of more and the next thing you know….kabam….I am sitting there taking the oath to serve.  Ugh….it’s been 3 full days now and I can hardly believe I’ve got more time to do – a two week trial is what they expect the timing to be like.  I don’t doubt it either with how slow everything moves and all the breaks they take.  Lunch alone is an hour and a half break!  I’m used to choking down a sandwich at my desk in about 15 mins so this is leisurely land!

Well, when I started writing this I had only served 3 days.  I just finished day 9 (that’s business days technically and we had a holiday in there, so you know we had that day off.)  OMG, these people take more breaks than I thought possible.  It’s so frustrating….let’s get this thing over with – but wait, it’s time for our hour and a half lunch break – today we had a 2 hour and 15 minute lunch break.  No wonder things in the “city” take so long to accomplish.  Ugh!  If you get that little notice in the mail, pay close attention to the first paragraph where it talks about “how to get out of jury duty.”  Unless of course, you have nothing better to do and need $15 a day!  Oh yeah, they pay your mileage too, but only one way!   Guess, they figure you can get home yourself!

It is of utmost importance to hire a Realtor and of even more utmost importance to make it a local realtor!  Why you say? Why can’t I just hire my brother-in-law up in Northern California to represent me?  There are so many reasons:

 If you are a buyer, your buyer’s agent needs to be a true expert in the communities you are interested in purchasing.  Your agent should be completely versed in the schools, school districts, boundary lines, commuting, type of  local building restrictions, etc.  Living in the area is really the only way someone could be a true expert in an area.  Knowing the neighbors, having dealt with the city building department themself…this is priceless knowledge that can be delivered only by someone who really knows the area.  This can save you thousands of dollars in mistakes – the mistake of buying on a “bad street.”  The mistake of not knowing that house is in a special “building restrictions” zone. 
Also, as a buyer, you will benefit from a local realtor who has insider knowledge that the “lady down the street had her house on the market last year and is still thinking of selling” and maybe that is the perfect house for you.  It’s not on the market today, so you wouldn’t have known about it unless a “local realtor” had that special insider knowledge.

Another important reason to hire a local realtor is that they are familiar with the nuances of the specific neighborhood, ordinances etc.   This is important if you are a seller as well.  In doing a little research on ZipRealty.com’s website I thought I’d check out their comps you could pull up as a “seller.”  This is to save some money of course as Zip Realty typically discounts their commission.  Here is their comp for an address of a 3 Bedroom, 2 Bathroom updated home with nice ocean views from the kitchen and the family room as well as a deck in front of the property.  The house was built in 1954 but was updated extensively in 1995.  The price range that ZipRealty’s website offers is between $495K – $1.9 million dollars.  Now there is a “range” for you.
What are you supposed to do with this comp?  This must be a joke you ask yourself.  Now a local Hollywood Riviera realtor would of course not even considered comparing this single family home to a condo that sold for $495K.  And certainly would have thrown out the $1.9 million dollar sale on the Esplanade.  Only a local realtor dedicated to the neighborhood that they service would know each and every property inside and out (these agents have been inside most of the houses in the neighborhood at one time or another.)  This is valuable knowledge that you can gleen and it’s priceless.

The last benefit I am going to address in hiring a local realtor in purchasing a home is that they may be aware of the best homes before they even hit the market.  As I mentioned above, local realtors know the people that live in the neighborhood that they specialize in.  They know whose home is most likely to go for sale before anyone else would know.   When there is limited inventory this is valuable information – priceless!

 These days you can’t just work off of Average Prices or Average Dollar Per Square Foot to come up w/ Pricing.  When comparing property, it takes someone who can back out certan aspects of a home that another home may not have. (Or add in – in the case of a view for instance.) Each home is unique – especially here in the Hollywood Riviera – some have views, some have great floor plans, some don’t, some have been remodeled (some more than others) and it is this specific information that adds or subtracts from the value of a home.  You can’t just go by averages these days to price a home.  And this goes for both buyers and sellers.  It is just as important for a seller to price a home for sale correctly as it is for a buyer’s agent to know the comps when coming up with a realistic offer price for a home.   Local Realtors can save a buyers and sellers thousands of dollars. 

First Time Buyers – It’s the time to buy!!!  Mortgage rates are at historical lows – approximately 4.75% (on a national basis according to Chase Home Mortgage.)  You have so many advantages over other buyers..for one you are much more flexible with the terms of escrow – you have nothing you need to sell first.  The government offers first time home buyers a $7500 incentive plan as of 2008 – thanks to the Economic Stimulus Plan of 2008.  

FHA loans are now up to $625,500 which is a lot more than the $417,000 conventional loan amount and that really helps out here in the Southern California real estate market.  It’s practically a necessity here.  There are several possibilities here for 1st time homeowners – in North Redondo Beach there are very nice two-on-a-lots available in the $650K range.  They are pretty close to owning your own home and typically average in the 2000 sq ft range with at least 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms & your own 2-car garage.  You can get into an FHA loan nowadays with as little as 3 1/2% down.  That is about $20K for a home in this price range.  Sellers can credit you back up to 6% of the sales price which can help out with those closing costs including things like points you will pay to buy a loan. 

Not to be forgotten is the “mortgage deduction” you will gain as a homeowner.  This is huge!  In most cases, you can deduct all of your home mortgage interest which is what you pay most of in the early years of an amortized loan pay-off.  You can also deduct your property taxes.  This makes home ownership one of the best deals in town.  Often home ownership is less expensive after taxes than renting!  Talk to your accountant for more details.

Some examples of properties available here in the South Bay that a first time buyer could purchase using an FHA loan amount of up to $625,500 with only 3.5% down would be – http://www.mrmlsmatrix.com/DE.asp?ID=3849654691

Happy House Hunting First Time Buyers!

We are starting to see more and more green home building which is such a wonderful trend for our planet.  I ran across this video of a smart home designed by a California woman and the home is at a museum for people to go look and and get ideas from.  Have a look and maybe you can get some ideas for your own home.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid2647830001/bctid2649597001